Tank bulb



J. P. HOLM April 9, 1963 TANK BULB Filed Aug. 24, 1961 INVENTOR. l/AMES IO. HOLM 71 BY W York Filed Aug. 24, 1961, Ser. No. 133,597 6 Claims (Cl. 4-56) The present invention relates to a tank bulb for water tank flush valves and more particularly to an improved tank bulb having an insert securely anchored therein to receive a flush valve control rod.

Tank bulbs for water tank flush valves are usually made of rubber, or a suitable substitute, and are adapted to be seated over the exit opening of a water tank to prevent water from entering the bowl of the water closet until flushing is desired.

Tank bulbs in common use today have an insert at the upper part thereof which has a threadable opening into which a flush valve control rod is threadably mounted. Such inserts are usually made of copper or some suitable alloy thereof. However, it has been found that in those areas of the country which utilize water with different salts in solution, such copper plugs corrode.

To overcome this difficulty, inserts have been made out of plastic. However, it has been found that plastic duplication of the copper inserts in use today will not result in secure anchoring of the insert in the tank bulb.

An object of the present invention is the provision of an improved tank bulb which has an insert securely anchored therein.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of an improved tank bulb in which the insert may be made of any suitable non-corrodible material and is securely held in the tank bulb.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of an improved insert for a tank bulb which may be securely mounted in the tank bulb at the time that the bulb is molded.

Other and further objects of the invention will be obvious upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiment about to be described, or will be indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages not referred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employment of the invention in practice.

A preferred embodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposes of illustration and description and is shown in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the specification, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the tank bulb made in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the insert which is e with the tank bulb of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of the insert shown in FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a section through the insert.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the tank bulb of the present invention comprises a hollow bulb member 1 which has a generally circular configuration and is provided with a relatively flat top wall 2 thereabove. An upstanding central neck portion 3 is provided on the top wall 2 into which a suitable insert 4 is securely anchored. The insert 4 has a central threaded open- 3,584,347 Patented Apr. 9, 1963 ing 5 therein adapted to accommodate the threaded flush valve control rod 6 as is common in such structures.

While the tank bulk is shown in the drawing as being of generally circular configuration with a flat top, it will be understood that the present invention is not limited to the configuration shown in the drawings and that it is within the scope of the present invention to use a tank bulb having any shape, as may be desired.

The insert 4 is preferably a one-piece member comprising a top wall 8 and a central body portion 7 depending from the top wall 8 and having the threaded opening 5 centrally located therein. A skirt portion 9 depends from top wall 8 and is spaced from central body portion 7 to form an annular groove 10. The edge of the top wall 8 of the insert extends downwardly to form a peripheral flange iii. The skirt portion is provided with a plurality of vertically directed slots 13 spaced from each other which communicate with openings 14 in the top wall 8 of the insert.

The insert is preferably made of a suitable non-corrodible material, such as plastic, but it will be understood that the insert may be made of any material, as may be desired. Excellent results have been obtained by making the insert out of a plastic sold under the trademark Delrin.

When the tank bulb 1 is to be made, insert d is positioned in a mold (not shown) and rubber or some suitable substitute is introduced into the mold. The rubber 15 will form neck portion 3 coextensive with flange 11 of insert 4 and in doing so will fill the groove 10 between the central body portion 7 and the skirt portion 9 as shown in FIG. 2 and will also spill over and fill the slots 13 in the skirt portion 9 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 and extend upwardly through the top openings 14. The rubber 15 will sandwich the skirt portion 9 therebetween to hold the lower wall 12 of the slots 13 firmly in place.

With this structure the insert 4 is anchored firmly in place. Since the rubber or other suitable material comprising the tank bulb completcly surrounds the lower wall 12 of the skirt 9 the insert 4 will not be pulled away from the tank bulb 1 during operation of the tank bulb.

It will thus be seen that the present invention provides an improved tank bulb which has an insert securely mounted therein which can be made of a material which is non-corrodible and which will not be pulled off during use.

As various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and without sacrificing any of its advantages, it is to be understood that all matter herein is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A tank bulb comprising a bulb member, an insert mounted in said bulb member, said insert having a top wall, a skirt portion depending from said top wall and spaced inwardly from the outer periphery of the top wall, a slot through said depending skirt portion, the material of said bulb surrounding said depending skirt portion and filling said slot.

2. A tank bulb as claimed in claim 1, wherein an opening is provided in said top wall communicating with the slot and wherein said material fill said opening.

3. A tank bulb as claimed in 2, wherein said top wall has an outer peripheral flange depending therefrom in spaced relation to said skirt portion and wherein said material fills in the space between said skirt and said flange.

4. An insert for a tank bulb comprising a top wall, a 6. An insert as claimed in claim 5, wherein said top skirt portion depending from said top wall and spaced Wall has an outer depending flange portion at its edge.

inwardly from the periphery of the top wall and a slot in th fil th t t through said dependmg skirt portion whereby when the References Cited e e of is pa in insert is mounted in a tank bulb the material of the bulb .5; UNITED STATES PATENTS will surround said skirt portion and fill said slot. 852,501 Freshour May 7, 1907 A11 insert as claimed in claim 4, wherein said top 1,129,226 Pfau Feb. 23, 1915 wall has an opening communicating with the slot in said 2,175,973 Reed Oct. 10, 1939 skirt portion. 2,544,498 Hiertz Mar. 6, 1951 

1. A TANK BULB COMPRISING A BULB MEMBER, AN INSERT MOUNTED IN SAID BULB MEMBER, SAID INSERT HAVING A TOP WALL, A SKIRT PORTION DEPENDING FROM SAID TOP WALL AND SPACED INWARDLY FROM THE OUTER PERIPHERY OF THE TOP WALL, A SLOT THROUGH SAID DEPENDING SKIRT PORTION, THE MATERIAL OF SAID BULB SURROUNDING SAID DEPENDING SKIRT PORTION AND FILLING SAID SLOT. 